Girl Trip
by ChEmMiE
Summary: Abby forces Ziva to join her for a road trip after a tough week.


**Hmm... So this story has got no plot! (just a warning... if you really want a proper plot, this isn't your story.. sorry)  
>I was never planning on uploading this. I just wrote it last night because I was super duper excited about going to Jackie Evancho's concert in Las Vegas in December (solo concert in Mandalay Bay), and her christmas CD coming out yesterday, and supposedly being nominated for best new artist at the Grammys next year...<br>It pretty much sucks, but as I said, I never meant for it to get uploaded, just figured there was no point in just leaving it on my computer :/ (although I suppose I do have a whole bunch of stories I havent uploaded yet, simply because they have very, very long plots and don't like uploading if I suspect I might run out of pre-written chapters... I guess I should get me a beta reader to read through them and tell me if they're worth continuing etc... any one wants to volunteer? :P)**

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><p><strong>Girl Trip<strong>

Abby was probably one of the last people Ziva had expected to see as she looked through the peephole of the door, tipping from foot to foot in what Ziva wasn't sure whether was impatience or excitement – likely a combination of both, so she reluctantly opened the door to greet the always excited goth.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see Abby, she just really, really wasn't in the mood for company right now and, realizing with a pang of guilt that she couldn't even remember the last time she'd hung out with the forensic scientist outside of work – was it really _before_ that horrible summer? - she knew it would be as good as impossible to turn her down, no matter what she had in mind.

"Abby." The Israeli quirked an eyebrow in surprise while fighting to keep her balance as she got attacked by the taller woman. Not because of the squeal that escaped her lips as the door opened or because of the extremely violent and forceful hug – those were both to be expected - but because she wore clothes that would almost pass as normal and acceptable to most people.

"Ziva!" Letting go of her still stunned friend Abby pushed past her and practically skipped into the apartment, not waiting to be invited inside. "Oh my God, this is gonna be so exciting!" The click of the door closing caused the goth to turn around to see a very guarded and hesitant looking Ziva.

"Abby..." Ignoring the quiet protest her huge grin faltered slightly as her gaze carefully took in the Israeli woman's attire.

"That won't do!" She threw her purse onto Ziva's coffee table and crossed her arms determinedly in front of her chest. "You need to go change."

"Abby..." Ziva knew her protest was futile as Abby just held up a hand in response to the slight shaking of her head as she too moved further into the apartment.

"As much as I absolutely adore those panda bear jammies on you, they won't work for what I've planned." The raised eyebrow seemed to go completely unnoticed by Abby. "It's Saturday afternoon, Ziva. Why are you still in your jammies? I mean, I know it's been a tough week and all, and that's mostly why I'm here, I guess, but I never took you for the time of person to stay in bed all day." Letting her hands rest on her hips she gave Ziva a calculating look.

"I was catching up on my book."

"Well that'll have to wait!" The confused, almost disapproving look on her face was once again replaced by her obvious excitement. "Cause you're coming with me."

"Abby, I really don't..."

"Nonsense!" Seeing the exhausted, almost desperate and pleading look on her friend's face however, Abby calmed down and slowly made her way towards Ziva, gently placing her hands on her shoulders. "Look, Ziva, I know this has been an absolutely horrible week for you, and I would be just as desperate to stay in bed all day if I were you, but I'm not gonna let you lay here and become all depressed on your own."

"I am fine, Abby!"

"Stop saying that, Ziva!" She surprised Ziva by actually looking angrily at her as she raised her voice, gripping her shoulders tighter. "You can only be held hostage so many times before it starts seriously ruining your sanity and ours. I mean we all saw what he did to all those other girls, and I know we found you before he managed to hurt you too bad, but..."

"Abby!" The sharp, desperate sound of her name managed to cut Abby's rant off, but she wouldn't let herself be deterred.

"No, Ziva. With that and everything going on with your father and Ray, I'm not letting you get out of this! You need to get your mind on something else and I have _just_ the thing." Even though she was filled with dread and apprehension, Ziva couldn't prevent the small, tired smile from appearing on her lips at how fast her friend could go from overly concerned to unnaturally excited.

"But first of all, we need to get you dressed!"

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><p>Ziva was fidgeting with the hem of the knee length silver and purple dress that Abby had made her wear, trying not to let her apprehension show.<p>

"Isn't it too early to go clubbing, Abby?" Her older friend still hadn't told her where they were going, and while Ziva trusted her explicitly, she was not a fan of surprises, and so far she'd been unable to get anything out of Abby.

"Forget it, Ziva, I'm not telling you." Cursing Abby under her breath for catching on to her, she turned to look out of the window, noticing the the signs on the side of the highway.

"Abby, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"But we're getting really far away from D.C." The goth just smiled at her friend's almost panicked tone of voice. Normally Ziva wasn't the impatient type of person, but considering the recent events Abby couldn't blame her for being a bit paranoid, and she realized she might be a bit evil by practically kidnapping her friend. But she didn't care, Ziva needed to get out.

"You thirsty? There's a Starbucks at the next exit." She didn't give Ziva a chance to reply as she took the exit, pulling into the empty drive through. "Two large Berry Mango Madness, please." At Ziva;s raised eyebrow she shrugged her shoulders, pulling forward. "What? They don't sell Caf-Pow here, and I need something to drink too!" She payed the girl in the drive through window and handed Ziva her drink.

"I can pay for my own drink, Abby."

"Not today you can't! Today is all on me." A stern glare silenced any protest that might have come from Ziva as she pulled back out onto the highway. "Now just relax, enjoy the road trip. You're not getting out of this." Ziva sighed in resignation as she leaned back in her seat. "That reminds me, you should so have been there the other day when I went to this charity event with Sister Juliette and Sister Maria. A woman had brought this adorable little puppy..."

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><p>"We went all the way to New York for a concert?" Ziva sent her friend a confused look as she stopped in front of the huge concert hall.<p>

"Dinner and a concert, and it's not just _any_ concert Ziva, it's a Jackie Evancho concert!" The Israeli raised an eyebrow at Abby's obvious excitement over a name she'd never even heard. "Oh my gosh, Ziva! Don't you ever watch television?" Ziva shrugged her shoulders, pushing a strand of her straightened hair behind her ear.

"I watch ZNN when I can't sleep." Rolling her eyes, Abby put her hands on her hips.

"Besides from the news?" Not bothering to wait for an answer as she already knew it, she continued. "Well, this girl is like 11 and she..."

"Wait," Abby cut off her rant at Ziva's stern voice. "Why are we watching a little kid sing?" She said it with such a disbelieving and exasperated tone that it almost managed to make Abby's excited mood falter, but the goth knew that her friend's short patience was mostly due to her obvious sleep deprivation and currently very conflicted state of mind, which was a big reason for why they were here in the first place, so she let it slide.

"Because it's supposedly magical to hear her live." That just earned her a raised eyebrow, and Abby knew it would be hard to convince her very stubborn friend. "And if you close your eyes you'll never believe she's just a kid, Ziva. You gotta give it a chance." When the federal agent still looked skeptical she tried another tactic. "With all you dancing and ballet and piano knowledge I'd think you'd enjoy some classical music every once in a while." That finally got a reaction out of Ziva, but not the kind Abby had hoped for or expected.

"Classical? You brought me to a classical concert?"

"I doubt any rock bands would be playing in a hall like this, and why do you think we're dressed like this?" She made a big deal out of pointing out her very unusual attire, but Ziva just continued looking confused.

"Since when do you listen to classical music, Abby? And kid singers?"

"Well, it's not _just_ classical. There's pop too and..." Another glare from Ziva told her to stop rambling. "Okay, Sister Rosita told me about her a few months ago and showed me some YouTube videos and it really is amazing, Ziva." The younger woman's expression softened considerably at her friend's words, and she even offered her a small smile.

She knew she really didn't have the right to be annoyed, after all, Abby was doing this for _her_. She was being a good friend, a _really_ good friend, so what was she doing questioning her judgment? As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew that Abby was right. Everything that had happened lately _had_ taken it's toll on her, and if Abby figured that this concert would make just a tiny difference, then there was probably some kind of truth to it.

"Okay, Abby. I believe you." The goth let out a loud squeal and hugged her friend before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the doors to the concert hall.

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><p>Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Ziva grimaced at the sight of the big bruise that was still obviously visible even through the layers of concealer she'd used to try to cover it up. It was one of the only few marks currently visible from her latest bout of being held captive, and it had been a painful reminder to notice it on her upper right cheekbone when she went to the restroom during the intermission halfway through the concert.<p>

She had to admit that she had been positively astonished just a few minutes into the concert. Abby had been right, it really was somewhat of a magical experience, and the fact that she had momentarily forgotten about the things that had bothered her so greatly lately came as a big surprise to Ziva.

She had always enjoyed classical music. When she was little she would often bring her paper and crayons into the studio on the top floor of their house in Tel Aviv. It was a big, open room with mirrors covering an entire wall and a big grand piano in the corner, and Ziva would always lay in the middle of the big wooden floor and scribble down messy pictures as she listened to her mother play flawlessly on the piano. As she grew older and Tali was born, she started preferring to hang out with her father and Ari instead, making them teach her how to be a soldier like them, and the only time she ever spend with her mother was when she gave her music and dancing lessons in that same room.

When her mother had passed away, Tali had continued taking lessons with a music teacher, and since they both enjoyed dancing, her sister would sometimes convince Ziva to join her when she was practicing. But ever since Tali died, however, she had almost stayed away from it completely, sticking to faster and more upbeat songs whenever she did find herself back at the piano.

But the somewhat happy, even if bittersweet memories that the concert brought back wasn't the only thing that got to Ziva. Abby _had_ been right when she said the kid was special. She had followed her friend's advice and closed her eyes, focusing solely on the voice rather than the person singing the songs and had found that it did indeed sound more like a seasoned, professional singer rather than a tiny pre-teen.

You didn't even have to be a fan of classical music to enjoy this girl. The beauty and the purity of her voice should be enough to win over even the pickiest of people.

"Hey." The sound of her friend's voice snapped Ziva out of her thoughts just to see Abby standing right next to her. "You okay? It's about to start again." She forced a smile onto her face, but found that was actually a genuine one.

"I am fine, Abby, just lost in my thoughts." Her friend raised an eyebrow sceptically, but seeing the honesty in Ziva's eyes she too smiled, linking her arm through Ziva's.

"Good, cause I can't wait for the second half. They always save the best songs for the end." Ziva just shook her head at her friends enthusiasm, happily following along. She was glad that they were spending a night at a hotel, cause she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed hanging out with Abby until she'd practically abducted her, and now that she did realize it she didn't want to rush home again. They'd take their time getting back to D.C. tomorrow, and Ziva would enjoy the girl time.

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><p><strong>If anyone made it this far, wow! :) haha... (not really expecting it)<strong>

**Feel free to leave me a comment on your way out! Would mean a lot to me...**

**(And do yourself a favor... go find Jackie on youtube if you haven't yet heard about her... you'll be glad you did! :P) **


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